A New Character
by Lindsaym97
Summary: What would happen if a threw myself into the Potterverse? What would stay the same? What would change? What sort of impact would I have on the story and the characters? Don't worry, I'm not some huge character like in the Golden Trio .
1. Chapter 1

**_Authors Note:_ I know, I know. I was supposed to start a Harry Potter/Inuyasha crossover. In my defense, I had almost the entire story written and saved on my computer. Well, now the internet doesn't work on my computer and there is no possible way to get it off of there and onto my laptop. So until then, this is my new story. I put myself in here but with a different background and name. I swear, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be born to a family in Japan but somehow made it to America. Anyways, there will be some things from my actual life in here. I'll translate the Japanese at the bottom. Enjoy my new story! R&R!**

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><p>I sighed as I looked out my window, an old letter in my hand. I thought about the events of the recent past.<p>

_**~Flashback~**_

I sat up in my bed, sighing out a loud yawn and arching my back with my arms above my head in a stretch. I relaxed as my yawn came to a close. Wiping the crust out of my eyes, I flung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up wondering what that crust was actually called. I shrugged and got to work making my bed. After a minute I was done and walking over to my closet to find something to wear.

"Skirt? No. Fancy shirt? Not today. Jeans and a t-shirt? Most definitely." I said before dragging out a plain dark purple t-shirt and a pair of dark jeans. In almost no time I was dressed and heading out my bedroom door to the bathroom to get ready for another day.

I opened the bathroom door and closed it behind me. Finding my face wash, I splashed my face with warm water before squeezing some face wash on my hand and spreading it evenly across my face. I splashed my face with more warm water until all of the face wash was gone. I grabbed my hairbrush and a hair tie and pulled my hair into a pony tail, two pieces of black hair framing my face. I found my toothbrush and brushed my teeth before putting on a little eyeliner and mascara and heading downstairs into the kitchen.

"Morning Mom." I said to my mom who was cleaning up some dishes that were in the sink. She had short black hair that was wavy. She had warm brown eyes that were kind and gentle. Her off-white apron was tied around a blue dress that reached a little past her knees.

"Good morning Momo." she replied, still not taking her eyes off her task.

I grabbed a peach and sat down at the table before taking a bite.

"Onee-chan, are you a cannibal?(1)" My little brother said to me before grabbing some toast and sitting down next to me. He was about four years old with messy black hair and brown eyes like my mother. He was wearing a green soccer t-shirt and jean shorts. I rolled my eyes.

"That's really funny Haru," I said sarcastically. "You really need some better material." He pretended to tear up before shrugging and getting back to his toast.

"Momo, will you please go check the mail for me?" my mom asked.

"Sure." I replied, standing up. I ruffled Haru's hair and headed out the room before opening the door and exiting the house. I didn't expect to see the sight in front of me however.

On our mailbox sat an owl. It was white with brown flecks. It looked at me and hooted softly before flying towards me. I was super freaked out on the inside but I decided to remain calm and wait for it to get to me. It landed on my arm and held out it's foot. Tied to it's foot was a letter in what looked to be English. Good thing they taught us English in school. I untied it and looked at who it was addressed to.

_**Takata, Momo**_

_**Tokyo, Japan**_

_**813 S. Sakura St.**_

_**2**__**nd**__** Largest Bedroom**_

"Well, that's weird. It's addressed to me too." I said to myself before walking inside and sitting down at the kitchen table.

"What's that?" Haru asked.

"It's a letter addressed to me." I replied, still fascinated with the foreign letter. Now my mom had become interested as well.

"What language is that?" she asked curiously.

"I think it's English. I'm almost positive it is."

"Well open it! I'm curious to see just what it says."

I nodded and flipped it over, tearing it open and ripping the letter out in excitement. I read the letter through. After that, I read it again. Then another time.

"Well, what does it say?" Haru asked. I cleared my throat and then began.

"Dear Ms. Takata, you are hereby invited to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in England. Normally, we would extend an invitation to you at age eleven. However, for some unknown reason, you have just recently displayed magical capabilities. As such, if you choose to accept, you will be accepted as a fifth year student. Books for years 1-4 will be sent to you. This way, you can hopefully catch up to the level that your peers are currently at. Whatever you need assistance with will be addressed upon your arrival of the school. Three days prior to the start of term, I will arrive at your house to take you to England to get your school supplies and of course, your wand. Term begins September 1st. If you choose to accept, please send back a letter with the owl who delivered this one. Sincerely, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." When I finished reading the letter, everything was silent. We all looked at each other, not knowing what to say. Finally, my mother broke the silence.

"So, would you like to attend?" she said smiling while Haru and I looked at her shocked.

"Are you serious? This has to be some kind of joke or prank. I bet Miyuki sent me this."

"No, she did not. Albus Dumbledore did. I know this because my grandmother was a witch." she said slowly. The look on my face must have been one of utter surprise.

"You're kidding, right?" Haru asked.

"No, I'm not. I'm completely serious. She got a letter just like this one when she was fourteen years old. She was a late bloomer, just like you. She showed me once her magic. She pulled out a wand and pointed it at a chair which then started to sing and dance."

"So this is real?" I asked, my voice a little shaky.

"It is, Momo. You really should accept it. Going to that school will open a lot of doors for you. I think it's for the best if you do." I took a breath.

"Well, if you think I should, then I will. I'm going to miss you two for an entire year." I said and Haru started to tear up for real this time.

"Onee-chan! I don't want you to go anywhere! I want you to stay here!" he sobbed and hugged me around my hips. He was still only a little kid so that was as high as he could reach. I smiled softly and hugged him back.

"I know Haru. I'm going to miss you two. Both of you. Think about it this way. Right now, it's May. So that gives us almost four months until I have to leave. I promise I'll spend as much time with you as possible until then. I'll play soccer with you all the time and you can help me study if you want." His entire face brightened when I said that.

"Really?" he asked/exclaimed.

"Really."

"Thanks Onee-chan!" he yelled, hugging me even more. I crouched down to his eye level.

"Now Haru, you have to remember something," he nodded and so I continued. "Once I'm gone, you have to step up and be the "man of the house" you could say. It's just going to be you and Mom since Dad isn't here. Can you do that?"

He saluted me. "Yes sir!" I stood there amused for a moment before I stood up with a serious face and saluted him back.

"Alright! Dismissed Private Haru!"

He puffed out his chest and marched out of the room while Mom and I stood there giggling.

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><p><em><strong>Authors Note:<strong>_** Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I'm uploading the second one now.**

**(1): Onee-chan in Japanese means sister. Also, the joke was that Momo in japanese means peach and she is eating a peach. Little kid humor, I know. But, it had to be done.**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Authors Note: _Well, here's chapter 2. Hopefully, chapter 3 will be up soon. Hope that you enjoy and that this is going fast enough for you all. By the way, in case you don't know, Manga is a japanese comic book._ R&R!_**

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><p>Quite some time has gone by since the day that I received the letter. Since then, I've been working hard to catch up to a fifth year. I don't have any magical materials like a wand or a cauldron so I've been practicing the theory of it all. I do say the spells out loud while I'm practicing but since I don't have a wand, nothing happens. I really wish that I don't need a wand. Then I could practice them for real using actual magic. But of course, that is not how things go. So until the day that I do get one, I'll just have to deal with not using any magic.<p>

Surprisingly, Haru has been a really big help lately. I think it's because he's trying to prepare to be the man of the house. He's been helping Mom out a lot lately with whatever she needs and he's been helping me study. On top of that, he's been practicing soccer a lot. He just keeps getting better and better at well… everything. I've been helping him work on soccer. He's not sure what position he wants to have yet but he likes to be the goalie. Being the goalie is what he excels at as well. We take turns being goalie. Either I try to shoot and score or he tries to get past me to score. I haven't been going easy on him either. That's one of the main reasons why I'm so proud of the little guy. Mom's yelling broke me out of my thoughts.

"Momo! Can you come down here and put your brother to bed please? He fell asleep on the couch again." That was one effect all of this hard work was having on him. He fell asleep every night at 8 o'clock on the dot.

"Yeah! I'll be down in one second."

"Thank you!"

I sighed and hopped off my bed. Walking down the stairs, I saw Haru laying on the couch curled up in a ball, his chest slowly rising and falling in sync with his breathing. Bending over, I scooped him up into my arms, one arm under the back of his knees and another supporting his head and neck. I trudged up the stairs and got him into his pajamas. I set him down on the bed and covered him up, kissing his forehead as I did so.

"Goodnight Haru. You're not going to see me for awhile after tomorrow." I whispered.

"Onee-chan…" he sighed in his sleep. Smiling softly, I left the room and shut the door quietly behind me.

The next morning I woke up and after yawning I hopped out of bed, excited for the events yet to happen. Today, Professor Dumbledore was supposed to come pick me up and take me to England. I made my bed as usual and got dressed- a pair of jeans and a light blue t-shirt that had a small purple butterfly on the bottom right corner.

I ran to the bathroom to washed my face, brush my teeth, and curl my hair. Now long, loose curls cascaded down to the middle of my back. I put on some light purple eye shadow along with a little eyeliner and mascara. I found some lip gloss that I had forgotten about in my make-up bag and put it on also. I looked in the mirror and decided that I was very happy with my appearance today. I grabbed my make-up bag and face wash along with my deodorant and walked to my room to put them in my suitcase.

I grabbed my checklist from my bed and went over the items inside of my suitcase. I read it off as I checked.

"Clothes? Check. Make-up? Check. …Feminine… products? Check. Hair accessories? Check. Hygiene products? Check. Muggle money? Check. Manga? Check. Books? Check. It seems that's everything. I guess I'll go ahead and go downstairs."

Grabbing my suitcase, I walked downstairs. I dropped my suitcase off in the living room by the door. I then headed into the kitchen to find Mom and Haru sitting at the table along with… a really old guy? Oh wait. That's Professor Dumbledore! Oops.

"Good morning Momo. This is Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of the school."

"It's wonderful to meet you after all of this time, Ms. Takata. I've just been having a little chat with your mother and brother."

"It's nice to meet you too Professor. You can just call me Momo. Wait, how were you talking to my mother? She doesn't speak any English."

"Oh, it's quite simple. Just a little translation charm and everything was fixed. I was explaining to your mother where you will be staying until the term starts. I also told her that students get time off for a holiday break in December. If you want, you could come here and visit her and your brother."

"Did you hear that Onee-chan? You can come see us if in a couple months!" Haru exclaimed, his face beaming.

"I know. Now, did you remember what I told you?" He nodded.

"I have to protect Mama and help her whenever I can," he pounded his chest with his fist and put on a very determined expression. "I have to be the man of the house!" I giggled a little and ruffled his hair.

"Yep. That you do. I'll tell you what. I'll make you a promise." I crouched down to his level and held out my pinky. "I promise that I'll work as hard as I can at school if you promise to work hard here as well." He wrapped his little pinky around mine.

"Okay! I promise."

Standing back up, I turned to Professor Dumbledore. "Professor, should we be going?"

"Yes, we probably should."

"Momo, you aren't going to have any breakfast?"

"No, not today Mom. I'm not very hungry."

"Alright. Come here." she said as she wrapped her arms around me. "Be safe."

I returned the hug. "I will. I promise. I love you Mom."

"I love you too."

I released her and hugged Haru as well. With a wave, and a quick grabbing of my suitcase, we were off and bound to England.

"How are we getting to England?" I asked Professor Dumbledore once we were outside.

"Side-by-Side Apparation."

"What is that?"

He held out his hand.

"Um… Professor?" I asked, unsure of what was going on.

He smiled and his blue eyes twinkled. "You'll see. Grab my arm and hold onto your suitcase please."

I did as I was told. I soon found out two things: 1. What Apparation was and 2. That I never wanted to do it again.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Authors Note: **_**Well, here's Chapter 3! I'm kinda proud of myself for writing this much. Japanese and the translation is in the story now instead of at the bottom. Hope you enjoy! R&R!**

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><p>There was a loud crack. It felt as though I was being crushed by pure pressure. Around my chest, my legs, my arms… everywhere. I couldn't breathe. Everything was black. But then, just as soon as it came,, it disappeared and I felt my feet touch solid ground.<p>

I opened my eyes and didn't expect what I saw. All around me were different style shops. However, they were all foreign looking. Some of them were bright, cheery and happy. Others were dark, gloomy, and somewhat scary. I saw the apothecary with the different things on display. I am definitely not going in there.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley." I heard a voice next to me say. I had completely forgotten about Professor Dumbledore standing next to me. I then realized I still had his arm. I removed it quickly.

"Oh, sorry professor! Where are we?"

"Diagon Alley which is in England. It's the largest collection of wizarding stores that we have here. You will be able to get all of your school supplies here."

"Alright then. So where do we get my books?" I asked, wanting to get started.

"Ah, that would be Flourish and Blotts. Which I am happy to say is directly behind us."

I turned around and saw a small, cheery shop filled with books. Dumbledore motioned for us to go in so I stepped forward and opened the door. As I did, a little bell went off and a man behind the counter looked up.

"Professor Dumbledore. What brings you here?"

"Hello John. I'm just here getting books for Ms. Takata here."

"Ms. Takata? I haven't seen you here before." Before Professor Dumbledore could answer, I did.

"I'm from Japan. I'm transferring in as a fifth year student. You can just call me Momo by the way."

"Alright Momo. One set of fifth year books coming up."

He wandered around the room, taking out random books from the shelf while mumbling some things to himself. Eventually, he had a fairly large stack of books sitting in front of us on the counter. Dumbledore paid him and we exited the shop back into the street.

"Where to next sir?" I asked, still eager.

"How about the apothecary to get your potions supplies?"

'Oh no, that's that creepy shop I saw earlier.' I thought before I said, "S-sure. Let's just go do that.."

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as you think in there." He said, seeing my hesitation.

We walked into the apothecary and Professor Dumbledore talked to the man behind the counter while I tried not to run out of the store. Soon enough he was done and paying while I ran outside.

"Sorry, Professor. But that is just not a good place for me to be." I said sheepishly.

"It's alright. I only know one or two people who don't mind going in there."

"Where now?"

"We need to get your robes."

"Okay. Where do we get those at?"

"Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. It's right over here."

We walked into a small black/dark brown shop. Inside was a blonde woman who was handing some robes to a teenage girl who then exited the shop.

"Hello Albus. I haven't seen you in awhile. How are you?"

"I'm doing well. This is Momo. She's a transfer student from Japan. She'll be needing some robes if you please."

"Alright. Momo, if you could please step over here so that I can measure you."

"Alright." I said, walking over so that I could be measured. She took all of my measurements. Hips, waist, bust, everything. Soon, she walked into the other room with my measurements and in about ten minutes, she was back with my robes. Again, Dumbledore paid the woman and we were heading outside.

"What else do we have to do?"

"Well, now is something I know you've been waiting for. It's time to get your wand."

I smile and nod and follow Dumbledore to another shop called Ollivander's. We walked in to find no one around. I was getting ready to ask Professor Dumbledore if we were at the right place but I was interrupted by a man's voice somewhere in the shop.

"Hold on! I'll be there in a second!"

All of a sudden, there was a man standing in front of me. He was fairly old with white hair. His sudden appearance made me jump a little but then I noticed Dumbledore was completely relaxed so I relaxed as well.

"Hello Albus. Long time no see. What brings you here?"

"Hello Ollivander. This young lady needs a wand." The wizard named Ollivander turned to me and smiled.

"Hello miss. What, may I ask, is your name?"

"Momo. Momo Takata."

"Well Ms. Takata, could you please hold out your wand arm?"

I didn't know which arm would be my wand arm but I figured since I wrote with right hand, it was probably my right. So I held it out for him. A tape measure came flying towards me and stopped right before I thought it was going to hit me in the face. It began to take measurements in the oddest of places: around my head, my armpit to my knee, my hip to my ankle and so on. While it was taking measurements, Ollivander disappeared into the back. After a minute, he came out with a long, thin, black box. He then proceeded to open it.

"This wand is hawthorn, dragon heartstring core. Nine inches and unyielding." he handed the wand to me while I just stood there confused. Seeing my confusion he said, "Well, give it a whirl."

I whirled the wand and a window broke. He quickly took the wand and disappeared back into the mass of boxes. He came out again after a minute.

"Try this one. Cherry, 10 inches, phoenix feather core. Springy."

I took the wand in my hand and this time, some of the boxes flew off the shelves. He once again took it back and disappeared to look for another wand. After a few minutes he came out again.

"Oak, eight inches, unicorn hair core. Good at charms."

For the third time, I took the wand in my hand. I twirled it and this time, nothing happened. Which was the problem apparently. For the third time, he took it back. For the third time, he went to find another box. And that's how it went for quite some time. He would hand me a wand and something would happen. I broke a vase, turned off all the lights, turned Dumbledore's hair pink, and caught Ollivander's robes on fire among other things. He just kept saying "The wand chooses the wizard". Finally, we were at my thirteenth wand. Lucky thirteenth?

"Never have I had someone this challenging."

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed.

"Are you kidding? This is the most fun I've had finding a wand in years. I never get a good challenge." he said smiling before taking out another wand. "Now, I've had this wand for many years. It was one of the first I ever made. It's Willow, ten inches, and flexible. This wand is a dual-core wand. It has both a dragon heartstring and unicorn hair core. Go ahead and try it out."

He handed me the wand and I knew. I knew that this had to be the one. I felt myself be lifted up into the air. I noticed that I was surrounded by a swirl of colors. There was a neutral blue, a dark purple, and a soft green. After a few seconds, I was set back down to the ground.

"Magnificent! I finally found someone compatible to that wand."

"Why was it so hard to find someone compatible with the wand?"

"Well, it mainly has to do with the cores. Dragon heartstring is most commonly found in the wands of dark wizards and those in Slytherin mainly because of its sheer power. However, it sometimes bonds well with Ravenclaw and Gryffindor but never Hufflepuff. Unicorn hair however, is the polar opposite of dragon heartstring. Unicorn hair is by far the best core for healing and is also quite good at charms. Unicorn hair is a more subtle core and gentler wizards and witches find themselves with this core. It finds itself in the wand of those pure of heart and kind. So to find someone compatible with a wand with polar opposite cores is extremely hard."

"Wow. Well thank you for the wand Mr. Ollivander. "

"How much do I owe you?" Dumbledore asked. Ollivander shook his head.

"No, Albus. This wand is free of charge."

"Thank you so much!" I said bowing.

"No problem. By the way, your wand wood, Willow is a feminine wood that is quite good at charms and healing magic. However, it is an extremely powerful wand. It's an incredible wand."

I nodded and Dumbledore spoke. "Well, we best get going. Goodbye Ollivander."

"Good day Albus, Momo." With that, we walked back outside.

"Professor, what else do we have to do?"

"Well, we first I have to ask you a question. Would you like to buy a pet to bring to Hogwarts?"

"What kind of pets are allowed?" I asked, intrigued about the idea. I always loved animals.

"You can bring either an owl, a cat, or a toad."

"Well, I don't really want a toad. I can always use a school owl to send a letter. I guess a cat it is then!"

"This way please." he said, walking towards another small shop. This one was filled with cages and in them, many different animals.

"Excuse me, where are your cats at?" I asked the brunette behind the counter.

"Right over there." she said pointing.

"Thank you." I replied before walking to where she pointed.

There were at least twenty cats and kittens in cages. When I walked by, they all came to the edge of the cage, sticking their paws out at me to try and touch me. All except one. In the corner of one of the cages was a little black kitten with a little grey patch on its forehead. It opened it's eyes and looked at me. They were a deep and beautiful blue.

"Excuse me," I said to the brunette, "What's the story on that little black kitten over there?"

"Oh, that little kitten we found outside the shop. It was exhausted and one of it's paws was hurt. We brought it in and nursed it back to health. However, it's been incredibly shy and because of that, no one will adopt it."

"Is it a girl or a boy?"

"A girl."

"I see. I'll take her if you please." The woman looked a bit shocked but then she smiled warmly.

"Right away."

She came back after a minute with the little kitten in a cage and some food. Dumbledore paid her and we were off once again. When we walked outside, there was a teenager staring at us. He had messy black hair and glasses and he was standing with a group of red headed people and a girl with bushy hair. Dumbledore just smiled and nodded at him and he left.

"Sir, where do we go now?"

"To Gringotts, the wizard bank."

"What are we doing there?" His blue eyes twinkled.

"You'll see when we get there."

I sighed and walked with him to a tall grey building. There were some stairs and past them were several tall grey pillars. There was a polished sign that said "Gringotts" on it in gold letters. We walked in and all around were short men with pointy ears. Goblins I suspected. They all looked so old and wrinkled. We walked up to a counter and Dumbledore spoke to the goblin that was there.

"We would like to open vault 826. Here is the key." he said handing the key over to the goblin who looked at it for a moment.

"Griphook! Take them to vault 826." he yelled before handing the key back to Dumbledore.

"Thank you." Dumbledore said before we followed a goblin into another room.

In front of us was a cart on a track. Dumbledore stepped in and getting the hint, so did I. The goblin stepped in and the cart took off. It was just like a roller coaster. The only time I had been on a roller coaster, I had almost puked. However, being the masochist that I am, I got back in line as soon as I got off. I looked around outside the cart. It was like a huge cave of some sort. Wait… was that a waterfall? After a few minutes, we came to a stop in front of a fairly large vault.

"Key please." the goblin said.

Dumbledore handed him the key and he put it in the keyhole. The vault rumbled and slowly opened. Dumbledore got out and stood in front of me so that I couldn't see. He moved after a second and got to see what was inside. There were huge piles of gold coins along with even bigger piles of silver and bronze ones. There were some jewels as well. Mainly rubies, emeralds, and sapphires. I got out and stood in front of the vault.

"Who's vault is this?" I asked without thinking, mainly to myself.

"Yours."

"What?" I exclaimed.

"When your great-grandmother passed away, her vault came into the possession of the closest magical relative she had. That means that this vault and its contents belongs to you. Go on in."

I rushed inside still shocked beyond belief to see the entire thing. I picked up some of the gold coins and slowly dropped them onto the ground. Dumbledore tapped my shoulder and I turned around. He was holding a small purple sack.

"Put some of your money in here." he said, handing the bag to me.

I put in SEVERAL of the gold coins along with some silver and bronze ones. I then had a thought. Closing my bag, I picked up several more coins. I turned around and grabbed Dumbledore's hand. I opened it up and dropped the coins in there.

"Here." I said.

"Ms. Takata, this is n-" he began before I interrupted him.

"No." I said firmly. "I won't have you paying for my things if I can pay for them myself. That is my final word on the matter."

He looked amused for a moment before he spoke. "You're just like your great-grandmother."

"Is that good or bad?" I asked.

"We'll have to see." he answered.

We got back into the cart which returned us to the big room with all of the goblins in it. We walked back outside before I realized something.

"Professor, where am I staying for the next few days?"

"The Leaky Cauldron." he responded.

"What is that?"

"It's a pub that is very near. Tom has so graciously agreed to let you stay there for the next few days until it's time to go to Hogwarts."

"Alright." I said.

We walked until we reached a brick wall. Dumbledore tapped some bricks with his wand. The bricks began to move until they formed an arch big enough to walk through. We walked through the arch and through another door which led into a pub.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron. Tom will lead you to your room. Goodbye Ms. Takata. I shall be by in two days to take you to catch the train to Hogwarts. Until then, you're free to roam around and explore Diagon Alley." he said and then left.

"Momo Takata?" I heard someone ask.

"Hai." I answered before turning around to see a hunchbacked bald man. (**A/N: Hai is Japanese for yes)**

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"Yes." I said.

"Follow me to your room please." he said before taking some of my luggage and walking up some stairs. followed him until we stopped in front of a black door. He opened it and set my luggage on the ground. "Here you are. Enjoy your stay."

He left and looked at the room. It was completely grey. The bed, the walls, the floor, the… everything. I set the rest of my luggage down next to my bed and opened the cage with my cat in it. I held her up in front of my face and she opened her eyes to look at me.

"I still need to name you, you know." She just looked at me with those deep blue eyes. "I know, Mizu. I will call you Mizu. With eyes like that, it fits." (**A/N: Mizu is Japanese for water) **I said before laying down to take a cat nap with my kitten.

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><p><strong><em>Authors Note: <em>I got the Golden Trio in there a little bit. I really wanna spend the day with Dumbledore. I want a kitten too. My mom and step-dad won't let me though. Those jerks... Remember to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

_**Authors Note: **_**Hey guys! I'm back once again with a new chapter. This is just the train ride and the sorting. I gotta say, I'm proud of myself for writing this much. Well, I hope you like it. My review count is still at zero so please review. Anyway, enjoy! R&R!**

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><p>Today was the day Professor Dumbledore was supposed to come pick me up and take me to King's Cross station so that I could board the train that was bound to Hogwarts. He was supposed to be here in half an hour and I still wasn't ready yet. I was currently battling my hair. My weapon of choice: a hairbrush.<p>

"Ugh! Come on hair. Work with me here." I said to my stubborn raven-colored locks.

Finally, after about ten minutes, I won the battle. 'Twenty minutes to go' I thought. I ran into the bathroom and brushed my teeth along with straightening my hair. That took another ten minutes. I forced some last minute clothes into my suitcase but left out a light green shirt and a pair of jeans. I threw on the jeans and turned around to grab my shirt. When I turned around, though, it was nowhere to be found. Only one thought came to my mind.

"Mizu…" I said out loud. I had to find that little cat.

I searched under the bed, in the bed, on the dresser, in the dresser, in the bathroom, and between the furniture and the wall. Dumbledore was going to be here any minute. When I came back into my room from the bathroom exasperated, I spotted the elusive feline. She had my shirt in her mouth, it was slowly moving side to side, taunting me.

"Come here kitty… here kitty… Mizu, come here." I said, trying to coax that cat to me.

I stepped forward towards her. One step. Then two. Soon enough, I was two feet away from my prize. I took another small step forward. That was when she decided it was time to go. She jumped up, using my head as a springboard to go even farther. The chase was once again on. This time, I had the kitten in my sight. That made it a lot easier. I ran around trying to catch up to her. Every time that I would get close to her, she would jump off into a different direction. Finally, I managed to grab hold of my shirt, she was fighting me though. That's when I heard a sound that I didn't want to hear. 'Knock Knock'. After that, was the turning of a door knob and a gasp. I slowly turned to face the door, trying to face up to that which I didn't want to.

"H-hi Tom." I said. Thank God it wasn't Dumbledore.

"I… you… Dumble…" he then looked down to the ABSENCE of my shirt. He turned pink in the face from blushing so much. I, on the other hand, had to be the color of a tomato. He quickly turned and shut the door behind him. I faced my cat after a moment.

"Mizu, do you see what you do to me?" I sighed, taking back my shirt and quickly throwing it on.

I put the rest of my stuff in my suitcase and headed downstairs. I noticed that Tom kept avoiding eye contact with me. I sighed and walked over to him. He did look at me this time and then he spoke.

"Miss! I-I-I'm so sorry. I shouldn't of… I should have… I'm so sorry!" he was blushing profusely by the end of it.

"Tom. Tom. Calm down. It's fine. You didn't know and it's okay. By the way, where is Professor Dumbledore?" he nodded and opened his mouth to speak before another voice was heard.

"I'm right here." I turned around to see the tall old man and his twinkling eyes.

"Hello Professor. Shall we get going?" I asked and he nodded. He held out his hand.

"Oh no.. not this again…" I said, but took his hand anyway, making sure to hold onto Mizu's cage and my suitcase.

The pressure surrounded my entire body once again. Everything was black. There was no air in my lungs. Soon, the pressure was gone. I could breathe and see once again. I then took notice of our surroundings. We were in a crowded train station between Platforms 9 and 10.

"Is this King's Cross station?" I asked Dumbledore and when he nodded, I continued. "How do I get to Platform 9 ¾?

"You walk straight through that barrier right there." he said while pointing.

"I-" I started to say before I noticed he was gone. Sighing, I walked towards the barrier. I gripped my stuff tightly and made sure no one was looking. I took a deep breath and walked swiftly towards the barrier. When I expected to feel pain, I felt nothing. When I opened my eyes, I noticed that I wasn't in the same place as before. I was in a crowded platform filled with odd looking people. Witches and wizards. I saw a very large scarlet train that in beautiful, gold letters said "_**The Hogwarts Express**_".

I walked towards the train, fighting my way through the crowd. I managed to make it onto the train in one piece. Now the only problem was finding a fairly empty compartment. 'Full… full… they look evil… full… full… not full!' I thought to myself. I stepped into the compartment a little bit. Inside was a girl with long blonde hair and a dreamy look on her face who was holding a magazine upside down along with two boys. One had messy black hair, green eyes, and round glasses. The other boy was slightly larger built and had brown hair.

"Um, excuse me. Do you mind if I sit here? Everywhere else is full." I asked.

"Sure. Go ahead." the boy with messy hair answered.

Sighing in relief, I walked in completely and shut the compartment door behind me. I set Mizu and my luggage on the luggage rack and sat down next to the boy with brown hair.

"I'm Momo by the way. Momo Takata." I said, making sure not to say my last name first like is customary in Japan.

"I'm Harry Potter." he said, somewhat hesitantly. I just brushed it off and when I did, he seemed a little shocked. I turned to the girl and asked her for her name.

"Luna Lovegood." she replied. I then turned to the brunette boy.

"N-Neville Longbottom." said the boy.

"So how come I haven't seen you here before? You've got to be at least fourteen." Harry asked.

"That's because I'm transferring in. For some unknown reason, nobody knew that I was a witch until a few months ago. It was the same thing for my great-grandmother. So Professor Dumbledore sent me books for the first four years so that I could transfer in as a fifth year. A few days ago, he took me shopping in Diagon Alley."

"That's it!" Harry exclaimed. "I knew I saw you somewhere before."

"Oh, I see. You were the one who was staring at us."

He rubbed the back of his head and smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, sorry about that."

"It's fine. Neville, what kind of plant is that?" I asked, deciding to take the conversation in a different direction. Harry groaned slightly. However, I already knew what it was. Herbology was a subject that particularly piqued my interest.

"I'm glad you asked. This plant is the mimbulus mimbletonia. It is an incredibly rare plant that originated in Assyria. It's used as an antidote to shyness, timidity, and nervousness. It has a really cool defense mechanism. Want to see?"

My eyes went wide. I ran out of the compartment and shut the door behind me. I blinked and when I opened my eyes once again, the entire compartment was covered in a dark green liquid that smelled like manure. I opened the compartment door.

"Neville! What is this?" Harry yelled. Neville flinched a little bit. Before he could answer, I did.

"It's called stinksap. It's not poisonous at all, don't worry. Actually, sometimes it's used to treat sick animals."

Neville's eyes went wide. "How did you know all of that?"

"I read about it. Herbology is something that really interests me."

"How are we going to clean this up?" Luna asked in a dreamy voice.

"Here, I got it." I pulled out my wand. "Scourgify." I said in a firm voice. All of the stinksap disappeared.

"Nice one. Thanks a lot." Harry said.

"Thanks. That's actually the first time I've done that."

"What? The spell?" Neville asked.

"No. Magic." I answered. Neville and Harry went wide-eyed.

"Really?" Neville asked.

"Yep. I wasn't allowed to do magic at home because of the underage wizard laws. And, this is my first year at a magic school."

"Wow." Neville said.

"Hey guys." said a girl with long red hair.

"Hey Ginny."

"Oh. Who are you? I haven't seen you before." she asked, facing me.

"My name's Momo Takata. I'm transferring in from Japan as a fifth year."

"Really? Wow, that's far away."

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

Things were uneventful for a little while into two people walked into the compartment. One of them was a teenage girl who looked like she was my age who had brown bushy hair. The other person was a slightly taller red headed boy.

"Hey Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny. Who are you?" the red head asked.

"Momo. I'm transferring in from Japan." I answered.

"That's amazing. I'm Hermione and this is Ron. We're in fifth year and-" Hermione began before Ron interrupted her.

"Harry! You won't believe who the Slytherin prefect is."

"Let me guess… Malfoy." Suddenly, three more people were in the compartment.

"That's right, Potter." said a boy with blonde- almost white- hair. Behind him were two large boys who looked incredibly stupid.

"Malfoy. What are you doing here?"

"I heard there was a transfer here. According to my father, there has only been one transfer before. I came to check it out." his eyes checked out the compartment and finally landed on me. He walked towards me.

I stood up and eyed him carefully. "Yes?"

He smirked. "You don't need to be in a compartment full of losers. Why don't you come join us?" he slid an arm around my shoulder. Big mistake. I grabbed his hand in what would be seen as a loving way. However, it was far from it. I grasped his hand tightly and flung him over my back. When he landed, I was twisting his arm in what was definitely a painful way.

"I'm quite comfortable here thanks. They're not perverts who are full of themselves." I said with a smirk. I let his arm go and he scooted back out the door.

"Y-You'll regret that. Nobody tells me no. Just wait until my father hears about this."

"Obviously I tell you no. And what are you going to tell your daddy? That you got beat up by a girl? Have fun with that." I said, my smirk growing even wider. He just stuttered and ran out, his two goons following as soon as they realized their master had disappeared.

"Bloody hell! That was brilliant!" Ron yelled.

"How did you learn how to do that?" Neville asked.

"Well, my neighbor knew martial arts and he taught me one summer. Every once in a while, he would come over to check on my progress."

"That's amazing." Hermione said.

"Thanks." I said.

The rest of the train ride was pretty uneventful. Eventually, we were nearing the school and had to change into our robes. Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and I changed in our compartment while the boys found another one to change in. A couple minutes after that, Hermione pointed out the window to Hogwarts. It was huge! I mean, I'd seen castles about as big as this one but it was completely different. I felt like I was thrown into medieval times with knights and monarchs instead of into the Feudal era of Japan where samurai and geisha were abundant. I liked it.

We all exited the train but left our stuff on there. I guess they brought it to you. They all walked towards the carriages while I followed after them. That was when I noticed a giant man yelling "Firs' years! Firs' years o'er here!". I figured that since I was a transfer, I should probably go that way. I waved goodbye to my new friends and headed over to him.

"Excuse me, I'm a transfer student. Do I come with the first years?"

"Yea. Jus' hop on in one of the boats here. We'll be goin' 'cross the lake to Hogwarts." he said to me with a warm smile.

"Alright." I said, and found a boat. Sitting next to me was a girl with short brown hair and green eyes. There was a boy with brown hair and brown eyes and a boy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. They all looked amazed at the castle before them.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" the girl asked me.

"Yeah, it is. It's so pretty too."

"My name's Anna."

"My name's Momo." I replied.

After a few minutes, the boat ride was over. The boats stopped on the bank and we carefully got out. We walked up a path to extremely large doors. They opened and we walked into the castle and up some stairs. When we reached the top of the stairs, a strict looking witch was standing there. Her graying hair was tied up in a bun and she had on dark green robes along with black glasses that framed her face. She spoke to us.

"Hello. Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall. In a few minutes, you will walk through these doors into the Great Hall where you will be sorted into your house. These houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. You will eat, sleep, and learn with those in your house. They will become something of a second family to you. I am the head of Gryffindor house. Please wait here until you are ready to be sorted." she said and then disappeared. The nervousness set into the crowd. Only I, because I was told what to expect, wasn't nervous.

"I heard we have to do a test." one boy said.

"I heard we have to do a spell in front of the entire school."

"I heard we have to fight a troll."

Honestly, some of these were just ridiculous. I decided to have a heart. "None of you are right. All that you have to do is sit on a stool and have a hat placed on your head. The hat will select which house to put you in based on your personality. That's it. You don't have to fight or prove yourself or anything like that."

All the nervousness was gone. A couple people actually thanked me. Anna came up to me. "How did you know that?" she asked.

"Oh, Harry told me." Everyone stopped.

"H-Harry? As in Harry Potter? You're friends with him?"

"Yeah. What's the big deal?"

A blonde boy walked up to me. "You don't know about him?"

"Know what? Will somebody please tell me what's going on?" I exclaimed.

So right then and there, I got a complete biography on Harry. I was told about Voldemort (someone spelled it for me) trying to kill him as a baby. I was told about the Sorcerer's stone. Then I was also told what happened last year in the Triwizard Tournament.

"So he came back to life?"

"That's what Harry and Dumbledore say." Anna said.

"That's rubbish." someone yelled.

"Hold on. Why would Harry and Dumbledore lie? Lying would only cause them harm. Nothing good would come out of them lying about something like that. So why would they do it?"

No one had an answer to that. "That's what I thought. You should give them a chance. Hear their side of the story directly from them. Everyone deserves a chance." I said. McGonagall walked in at that moment.

"We're ready for you." she said, and nervousness came back to the younger children.

We walked in two lines. Anna was walking next to me. Inside of the Great Hall were four incredibly long tables. Probably one for each house. Then past those chairs was another smaller table. It was filled with professors and in the middle sat Dumbledore. In front of the teacher's table was a stool with an old hat on it. We came to a stop in front of the stool. A rip in the brim of the hat opened and the hat began to sing.

In times of old, when I was new,And Hogwarts barely started,The founders of our noble schoolThought never to be by a common goal,They had the selfsame yearningTo make the world's best magic schoolAnd pass along their learning."Together we will build and teach"The four good friends never did they dream that theyMight some day be were there such friends anywhereAs Slytherin and Gryffindor?Unless it was the second pairOf Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw,So how could it have gone so wrong?How could such friendships fail?Why, I was there, so I can tellThe whole sad, sorry Slytherin, "We'll teach just thoseWhose ancestry's purest."Said Ravenclaw, "We'll teach those whoseIntelligence is surest"Said Gryffindor, "We'll teach all thoseWith brave deeds to their name."Said Hufflepuff, "I'll teach the lotAnd treat them just the same."These differences caused little strifeWhen first they came to each of the four founders hadA house in which they mightTake only those they wanted, so, For instance, Slytherin Took only pure-blood wizardsOf great cunning just like only those of sharpest mindWere taught by Ravenclaw While the bravest and the boldestWent to daring Hufflepuff, she took the restand taught them all she knew,Thus, the Houses and their foundersMaintained friendships firm and Hogwarts worked in harmony for several happy years,but then discord crept among usfeeding on our faults and Houses that, like pillars fourhad once held up our schoolnow turned upon each other and divided, sought to for a while it seemed the schoolmust meet an early with dueling and with fightingand the clash of friend on at last there came a morningwhen old Slytherin departedand though the fighting then died outhe left us quite never since the founders fourwere whittled down to three have the Houses been unitedas they once were meant to now the Sorting Hat is hereand you all know the score:I sort you into Housesbecause that is what I'm this year I'll go further,listen closely to my song: though condemned I am to split youstill I worry that it's wrong,though I must fulfill my dutyand must quarter every yearstill I wonder whether sortingmay not bring the end I , know the perils, read the signs,the warning history shows,for our Hogwarts is in dangerfrom external, deadly foesand we must unite inside heror we'll crumble from withinI have told you, I have warned you...let the Sorting now begin.

Some people were confused but they all clapped and cheered anyway. 'It's a warning.' I thought. 'Something big is going to happen this year.' Professor McGonagall stepped forward and began to call out names. After a little bit, she got to "Johnson, Anna!". Anna hopped up onto the stool and put the hat on her head. After a minute, the hat yelled "Gryffindor!". Gryffindor cheered and she went to sit at the table. After a while longer, the numbers began to dwindle until I was the last one standing there. Dumbledore stood up to address the hall.

"Settle down. This year, we will be having a transfer student from Japan attending Hogwarts. She will be transferring in as a fifth year. Now, I hope you will all welcome her with open arms. Let her be sorted now." he said before sitting back down. McGonagall called out, "Takata, Momo!"

I walked up to the stool and sat down. She placed the hat on me and the hat began talking. "Ooh… a transfer, eh? Let's have a look, shall we? Plenty of potential in this one. Very bright mind, very bright. You would do well in Ravenclaw, I see. Very loyal and accepting, a nice trait of Hufflepuff. However, you're extremely brave. I see that you've had to put yourself in danger for your friends and family before. Looking deeper, you also have a bit of Slytherin in you. You have a "dark" side, shall we call it. You would do well in any house. So, where to put you? Do you have any preferences?"

I whispered to the hat, inaudible to the rest of the hall. "If you could, I would like Gryffindor please. I would appreciate it."

"Ah, I see. Yes, I think that's a wise decision. Well then, it's got to be.. GRYFFINDOR!" Many seemed disappointed but the Gryffindor table clapped extremely loud. Some whistled and yelled. A pair of redheaded twins were chanting "We got the transfer! We got the transfer!" I blushed and sat down next to Harry. Anna came over to sit next to me too.

"Yay! I know someone in my house." she squealed.

I giggled. "Yeah, I guess you do."

"You were up there for awhile." Hermione stated.

"What did the hat mean when it said you put yourself in danger for your friends and family before?" Ron asked rudely.

"Ron! You don't ask someone that!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No, it's fine. Well, one day I was walking home from school when I saw a girl from my class, Miyuki, being cornered by a couple guys. They were trying to rob her. I ran over and punched one of the guys in the face. The other one rushed at me and tried to hit me. I dodged it and managed to land a kick to his chest. I'm pretty sure I cracked some of his ribs. He didn't get back up. The guy that I had punched got back up and came at me. This time, he had a knife. He stabbed me in my lower abdomen. He realized what he did and ran away with his friends. Miyuki called the police and an ambulance came. I spent some time in the hospital after that. Miyuki and I have been best friends since. I have a scar there now." I finished.

Everyone was speechless. "Wow… that's.. wow." Harry said.

"It's nothing. I would have wanted someone to do the same for me." I said. Dumbledore stepped up once again.

"Now, I have a few words before we get befuddled by our wonderful feast. Here they are: Lemon drops and Licorice wands. Enjoy the feast!" he yelled and several people laughed.

In front of me was a bunch of food that I had never seen before. I didn't even know what to try. It made me miss my mom's cooking a lot. Just as I thought that, a bowl of white rice and soy sauce along with miso soup, and curry appeared. Next to my bowl of white rice was a pair of chopsticks. I went wide-eyed.

"What is all of that?" Ron asked, his mouth full of chicken.

"This is white rice and soy sauce. That's miso soup and this is curry." I ate some of my curry. "It taste just like Mom's." I said, astonished.

"Is it any good?" Neville asked.

"It's delicious. Try some." I said. Everyone tried some and found that they liked it. I continued to eat until it was time for dessert. In front of me was some pocky. "It's pocky!" I said surprised.

"What's pocky?" Harry asked.

"It's a bread stick covered in a flavored cream. There's chocolate and strawberry here. Strawberry's always been my favorite." I took a piece of strawberry pocky and popped it into my mouth. I smiled as the familiar flavor filled my mouth.

"Wow! This is so good." Anna said.

"See? I told you."

A pair of twins walked over to us and sat down beside Ron, right in front of me. They both smirked with their identical faced. It was almost impossible to tell them apart. However, one freckle was slightly darker than the other. 'That's how I'm going to have to tell them apart.' I thought.

"So you're the new transfer." they said in unison. "I'm Momo. Who are you guys?"

"I'm Gred and-"

"I'm Feorge." they said, their smirks growing even bigger.

I pointed at Gred. "So in other words, you're George," I pointed to Feorge. "and you're Fred?"

"How did you-"

"Guess that-"

"No one-"

"Can ever-

"Tell us apart." they finished in unison.

"My best friend was a twin. Even the most identical twins have tell-tale signs. But don't worry, I'm not going to tell anybody how to tell you apart."

"Well played." George said.

"Indeed." Fred said, agreeing with his friend.

"I see that you've met our little brother."

"Ron? You're their little brother." I asked.

"Unfortunately, yeah." George said.

"Come on-" Fred continued.

"Ronny-kins-"

"Don't be-"

"So mean." George finished.

"They're right Ron. You really love them and you know it. Think about how you would feel if you lost them. You would be extremely sad." I said.

Ron mumbled to himself after that.

We continued to eat dessert until the tables cleared. The plates, goblets, and silverware left behind were spotless. Dumbledore got up to speak.

"I hope you all enjoyed your dinner. This year, we will be having some staff changes. Professor Hagrid is on leave right now, so until he gets back Professor Grubby-Plank will be filling in for Care of Magical Creatures. Also, I would like you to warmly welcome Professor Dolores Umbridge who will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher." a few people clapped.

"Now, I would also like to-"

"Hem hem." Everyone turned to look at the toad in pink. "If I could just have a word, Headmaster."

Dumbledore nodded and let her talk. "It's so nice to see all of these bright faces smiling up at me." I looked around, no one was smiling. She continued about a bunch of things. Many people fell asleep. After what seemed like an hour, she was done.

"What does that mean?" Harry asked.

"It's simple Harry." I said.

"The Ministry is interfering at Hogwarts." Hermione finished.

Dumbledore finished his speech and Ron and Hermione went to lead the first years to Gryffindor tower. The rest of us went on ahead. I followed Harry, Neville, Ginny, and the twins to a portrait with a rather fat lady on it. "Password?" she asked.

"Mimbulus Mimbletonia." Neville said. Of course, Neville will definitely know this password.

I went upstairs to the girl's dormitory. I walked in and found my stuff on a red bed. I changed into some of my pajamas that were now in a trunk at the end of my bed and grabbed Mizu. Sighing, I pulled the covers back and hopped into bed. I closed my eyes as soon as my head touched the pillow. It had been a long day and many more long days were to come this year.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Authors Note:<strong>_** Hope you enjoyed that chapter. I met Harry Potter! And ew, Tom saw me in my bra. The creep. Anyway, I'll try to hurry on the next chapter but I have no idea when it will be up. Please click that little button below that says "Review" on it. Ja ne!**


	5. Chapter 5

I could hear someone saying my name over and over again. It was like a song. My name was the lyrics. Momo… Momo… The song started to become angry and frustrated. Who was the singer though? Was it Haru? No, it was a female voice. It was probably my mom then.

"Okaa-san…" I mumbled in my sleep.

"Who's that?" I heard another voice ask. Definitely not my mother.

I opened my eyes to see bushy brown hair and next to it was flaming red hair. In other words, it was Hermione and Ginny.

"Finally! You're awake," Ginny said in a victorious voice. "We've been trying to wake you up for forever now. You should hurry and get dressed. You'll be late for breakfast."

I jumped out of bed and threw on my uniform. While trying to locate my brush, I told the two girls to wait in the common room for me. After battling against my hair, I finally won. The knows and tangles were vanquished. However, It still looked horrible so I grabbed a hair-tie and put it up into a ponytail. I grabbed my books and flew out the door and down the stairs. Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Harry were waiting for me.

"It's about time," Ron complained. "I'm starving!"

"Oh hush Ronald. She's probably not used to the time difference yet." Hermione said, defending me.

"Thanks Hermione. And sorry guys," I said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it." Neville said.

I noticed Harry was quiet. "What's wrong Harry?"

"Yeah, you're awfully qui- oh for heaven's sake!" Hermione said.

We all looked to where she was staring at the notice board where a large sign was hanging.

**GALLONS OF GALLEONS**

**Pocket money failing to keep pace with your outgoings?**

**Like to earn a little extra gold?**

**Contact Fred and George Weasley, Gryffindor common room,**

**For simple, part-time virtually painless jobs**

(we regret that all work is undertaken at applicant's own risk)

"They are the limit," Hermione said as she took the sign down. "We need to talk to them Ron."

Ron about choked. "We? Why?"

"Because we're prefects!" Hermione yelled. "It's our job!"

Ron's mood went from complaining to grim in a moment. It was obvious he wasn't looking forward to talking to Fred and George. Everyone except Hermione felt sorry for him.

"Anyway… What's wrong, Harry?" I said, trying to continue with the direction the conversation had been going before it's sudden detour. "You look angry for some reason."

My question was greeted with silence. So Ron stepped up to the plate. "Seamus reckons Harry's lying about You-Know-Who."

"Yes, Lavender thinks so too," Hermione said grimly.

"Been having a nice little chat with her about whether or not I'm a lying, attention-seeking prat, have you?" Harry practically yelled.

"Actually, Hermione told her to keep her mouth shut. And it would be nice if you stopped jumping down everyone's throats," Ginny said. "In case you haven't realized it yet, we're all on your side."

"Sorry," Harry mumbled quietly.

"Anyway!" I began, trying to lighten the mood, "When do we get our schedules?"

"Today at breakfast. Professor McGonagall will hand them out to all of the Gryffindors," Hermione answered.

"Okay then. We really need to hurry though," I said.

"Why?" Neville asked curiously.

At that moment, as if on cue, my stomach growled. We all stopped for a second and I blushed. The other five looked at me for a second before we all began to laugh.

"Looks like you don't have to answer now," Harry laughed, back into a good mood.

"Guess so," I replied still laughing a little.

After a few minutes, we made it to the Great Hall and found ourselves some empty seats. They was everything from bagels to pancakes to eggs. I decided to go for the simple route and picked up a piece of toast and took a bite. Of course, at that moment, McGonagall came over with our schedules.

"Good morning," she greeted.

"Good morning," everyone replied except for me. She looked over at me and noticed I had a piece of toast sticking out of my mouth. I grabbed it and swallowed the food in my mouth.

"Good morning Professor," I said giggling a little.

"Here are your schedules for the school year," she said before handing us our schedules and walking off.

"So what do we have today…" I said mainly to myself.

It looked like we all had the same classes today except for Ginny. Double potions, Transfiguration, Divination, and DADA. It didn't seem so bad to me. I guess I was wrong though, because Harry and Ron groaned and Neville looked like he wanted to go back to Gryffindor tower and go back to bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked somewhat worried.

"The classes…" Ron began.

"They're horrible. Potions, Divination, and DADA with that toad woman," Harry finished.

"Well, at least they'll be out of the way," I said, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work. Harry and Ron were radiating an aura of… well, I don't really know what to call it but it was bad.

"Oh cheer up you two. You're acting like babies," Hermione said.

"We should probably get going to Potions. Class is going to start soon," I said.

We all stood up and said bye to Ginny before heading down to Potions. When we got there, Harry and Ron sat together, Hermione went to sit with someone else and I sat with Neville. After a couple minutes, Professor Snape came in. He lectured about how this year was incredibly important and about the O.W.L.'s. After he was finished with his lecture, he set us to work on the Draught of Peace which were to do with whoever we were sitting by.

"I'll go get the ingredients," I offered before going to get powdered moonstone, syrup of hellebore, powdered porcupine quills, valerian root, and powdered unicorn horn. When I got back, Neville looked somewhat nervous.

"What's wrong?" I asked concerned.

"I-I hate this class. Any time you do anything wrong, Professor Snape makes fun of you and takes of points. But only to Gryffindor," he said worriedly.

"Well, if we do it right, then there's nothing to worry about," I said smiling. "Let's get to work."

First, we added the powdered porcupine quills, followed by the powdered unicorn horn. Next was the valerian root and then the powdered moonstone. Neville went to add the hellebore but I stopped him.

"We don't add that yet. We have to stir it seven times clockwise and counter-clockwise and then reduce the heat and let it simmer for seven minutes," I reminded him.

"O-oh. Sorry," he mumbled.

"It's fine. I've done the same thing before at my muggle school during science class," I giggled quietly. It hadn't turned out so great. There was some bubbling and then a smell and let's just say it didn't end well.

Neville laughed a little too. So we did exactly what I said and at that moment, Snape came around just as it finished simmering.

"It should be a grey color and emitting a silvery vapor at this point."

Ours was! Thank kami it was. I didn't want to get yelled at on my first day. He looked at everyone's potion and if they were from Gryffindor, criticized them. He got to us and looked in the cauldron. The Slytherins looked over as if expecting him to insult us or something. Instead, he just walked off to another pair's potion. The Slytherins turned back around disappointed. Neville exhaled in relief.

"See? Well, let's finish up shall we?" I smiled again and added the hellebore. The potion turned a turquoise color. "We're done. That wasn't so bad at all."

"Guess not," Neville said quietly.

"So Neville… tell me something about yourself," I said.

"Well, um, I-I like Herbology," he said quietly.

"You do too? I thought I was the only one," I replied.

"You like Herbology?" Neville asked shocked.

"Yeah, I have since I started learning magic. At my house back in Japan, I used to grow flowers all the time. I've grown them since I was a little kid."

"That sounds like fun," he said. I nodded my head.

"It was. Maybe one day you can see them," I suggested.

The bell rang and the class ended. We brought up a flask with our potion in it and set it on Snape's desk. Then we all headed to Transfiguration. McGonagall talked about the O.W.L.'s as well and then we began working on vanishing a snail. It took me awhile but at the end of the class, I figured out how to do it. Hermione and I were the only ones who had no homework to practice.

Divination came after Transfiguration. All in all, I don't like that class. I won't say I _hate_ it. I'll just go with I strongly dislike it. She predicted some gruesome death for me and then for Harry. During the entire class I was choking on whatever it was she sprayed in there. It was horrible and I'm not taking it next year. Funny, the first day and I'm already thinking about the next year. After Divination came Defense Against the Dark Arts with that woman in pink. What was her name again? Oh yeah. Umbridge. What a weird name…

Anyway, we all walked to the DADA room and sat down. I sat next to Hermione, Harry sat next to Ron, and Neville went off to sit with Dean. After about five minutes, Umbridge came in and stood in front of the class. She wrote some course aims on the chalk board and then spoke.

"Good morning class," she said.

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," I said along with a couple people.

"Tut, tut. Now that won't do. I said 'Good morning class'."

"Good morning Professor Umbridge," everyone chanted back to her.

"Thank you. Now I would like for you all to get out some parchment and copy these down," she ordered.

Everyone copied down the course aims and then she directed us to read chapter 1 starting on page 3. However, Hermione and I looked at each other and then she raised her hand. For several minutes, Umbridge ignored her until I also raised my hand. Several people had noticed us and were staring. Finally, she called on Hermione.

"Yes Ms…?"

"Granger, ma'am. I have a question about the course aims."

"Well, if you read them carefully, they should be quite clear," she continued in a sickly sweet voice.

"Well, they're not to me," Hermione stated bluntly.

"What Hermione's getting at is that we can't seem to find anything about using defensive spells. It just seems like it's all theory to us," I butted in.

"And you are?" she asked.

"Momo Takata," I replied.

"Well Ms. Takata and Ms. Granger, the ministry sees it fit to have you students learn in a safe and controlled environment. We believe that a theoretical understanding will be suffice to get you through your examinations which, after all, are what school is all about."

"What if we're attacked? It won't be safe and controlled," Harry asked.

"Students will raise their hands Mr. Potter," she said in a sickly sweet voice. "And besides, who would want to attack children like you?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe Lord Voldemort?" Harry asked. Not a good thing to say to a ministry worker. Umbridge's smile faltered for a moment.

"Now, you all have been told that a certain dark wizard is alive and at large. This. Is. A. Lie," she said.

"No it isn't! I saw him! I fought him!" Harry yelled.

"Detention tonight, Mr. Potter. My office at 5:30," she ordered. I raised my hand and she called on me.

"Actually, I think Harry has a point. Even though it may not be that we're attacked by You-Know-Who, there are still psychopaths, pedophiles, and serial killers in the world. As much as we would like it to be, the world isn't a completely safe place no matter if he really is back," I rationalized. She looked furious.

"Detention tonight with Mr. Potter. I want you two to take these slips to Professor McGonagall now," she said still fuming.

Harry and I stood up and grabbed the pink slips. We exited the classroom and began the walk to McGonagall's classroom.

"Thanks for defending me," he said.

"Don't worry about it. You had a point. By the way, I wouldn't talk about Voldemort in front of her. She is a ministry employee after all," I said. Harry looked shocked.

"You said his name," he said.

"Yep. I just found out about him yesterday so saying his name doesn't bother me. Besides, if you can't even say his name out loud, then how do you expect to fight him?"

"So you believe me?" he inquired.

"Yeah, I do. Why would you lie about it? All it's done is make you and Dumbledore look bad. And the fact that you haven't changed your story in any way makes you even more believable. So when you look at the evidence, it points to you being right and the rest of the wizarding world being scared."

Harry didn't know what to say. I didn't care though. I knew what he was thinking. We reached McGonagall's office and handed her the slips. She sighed and told us to be careful. Then she sent us back to class. However, we walked extremely slowly in the hallway to avoid having to see that pink toad. A pink toad that was gonna get hers.


End file.
